WARNING: Spoilers may be in comments below, so scroll past review with caution, thanks

Plot: AThe plot of this particular game was very engaging and suspenseful. It was not quite as scary to me as Shadow at the Water's Edge, but it was certainly creepy. In this installment Nancy Drew is given a mission before hand rather than discovering a sinister back story. She must find a way to cure Linda without much help from the inhabitants around her. There also is a furry suspicion about one of the characters in the game as to whether or not they are changing... but I don't want to spoil things

Characters: A+I loved the characters in this game. Mrs. Drake, the owner of the mansion, reminds you of a very strict mother/teacher who seldom allows anything improper to be experienced. Her voice fit her character nicely. The researcher Nigel was an interesting fellow who may have an ulterior motive. He was also handsome for a fictional character, I must admit. Ethel acted like the stereotypical private teacher--snooty and prying. Linda was...well very aloof and stayed hidden throughout most of the game. Finally, we have Jane, who is Linda's daughter. I'm not sure why, but something about her had a very unnerving vibe. Ned, Mrs. Petrov, A "monster" specialist, Hugh, and a cook were also in the game, though they were simply phone conversations. I found the cook's speech to be amusing as he spoke cockney.

Location: A-The location solely takes place in Blackmoor Manor, which is a creative name, if you ask me. The manor has an eerie yet timed feel to it, with great attention to detail. Nancy's room was especially unique as it was a combination of designs and eras packed into one small room. Though we never got to explore the outside, the various secret passageways and size of the mansion itself didn't make you realize that fact too much. I do wish we could have explored outside, however, thus the A-.

Puzzles: AThe puzzles were some of the best I've done so far, being a rookie Nancy Drew player. Each one was vastly diverse from the next and offered a lot of history, which I liked. I also enjoyed the astrological theme on some of the puzzles/items as I am pretty knowledgeable about that subject. I don't want to give away too much but let's just say there is a major puzzle to be solved which can only be solved by numerous smaller puzzles of equal patience and challenge. There were minor "puzzles" as well which opened passageways or minor events. All in all, the puzzles were well thought out.

Ending: B+The ending surprised me. I had for sure thought I knew the culprit of the scenario, but I was totally wrong! Though the ending did not have as many scenes as the other games I've played, the story behind it was more logical. Be prepared for a shocker

This game had everything that should be included in a mystery, let alone a Nancy Drew game. With challenging incorporated puzzles, mysterious characters, an eerie location, solid storyline and an acceptable length(took me almost a week), I would recommend this game to folks of all ages, despite it being an older game. With this, I bid adieu

Thank you for the review. I have every single Nancy Drew game, but this is one that I haven't played as yet. I'm really looking forward to it. It has a reputation of being one of the most difficult in the series as well.

Thank you for yet another interesting review Dreamer - I think this is the game which had the typing test for Nigel which brought me to Gameboomers in the first place. It must have taken me 50+ attempts at least to pass that test - how did you find it?

Well, I am a fast typer but the random keys were difficult. What I did was try and hit them as they appeared but if it seemed I was going too slow then I started to randomly hit the keys--meaning just hit as many as you can in quick succession. I forget what my WPM were, but I passed on the 2nd try